KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 ― Malaysia has shown a keen interest in having access to Russian technologies, including in the space industry, reported Moscow-based news agency, Sputnik.

According to the news agency,  it was discussed during the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Summit (EES) in Russia’s Vladivostok here, today.

Sputnik quoted Dr Mahathir as saying on its part, Putrajaya would help Russia boost its presence in South East Asia.

The Russian president was quoted as saying that Malaysia was a priority partner of Russian in Asia.

“We are very positive that relations between our countries are developing in such a positive way,” said Putin according to the news agency.

The story was tweeted by Dr Mahathir via his official twitter handle @chedetofficial.

Earlier, Bernama reported that during the 30 minutes discussion in the port city overlooking Golden Horn Bay, near the borders with China and North Korea, both leaders also spoke about bilateral ties, trade and innovation.

Dr Mahathir and Putin previously met on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit held in Singapore last year.

The EES, which was established by decree of Putin in 2015 to support the economic development of Russia’s Far East, takes place between September 4 and 6, 2019 at the Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) campus.

Malaysia and Russia enjoyed more than 50 years of cordial diplomatic relations.

This is not the first time Malaysia has indicated its interest in Russian space technology.

Previously, under the “Angkasawan Program,” the government send a Malaysian astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS) onboard Soyuz TNMA-11 spacecraft.

The programme was announced by Dr Mahathir, during his first stint as Malaysia’s Prime Minister as a joint programme with the Russian Federation.

It was a project under the government-to-government offset agreement following the purchase of 18 Sukhoi Su-30 MKM fighter jets for the Royal Malaysian Air Force.

Under this agreement, the Russian Federation bore the cost of training two Malaysians for space travel and for sending one of them to the International Space Station (ISS) on October 2007. ― Bernama